A Game of Life and Death
by Levi Kazama
Summary: Alfheim was supposed to be the next hit that would boost the VR industry. No one ever expected it's turnout to be this bad. Pairing undecided.
1. Chapter 1

_A Game of Life and Death_

 _Alfheim was supposed to be the next hit that would boost the VR industry. No one ever expected it's turnout to be this bad._

' _Kayaba… what are you up to?'_

A teenage boy was crouched in a clearing as he thought over the recent events.

It had been a day since the announcement was made. Alfheim was now a real death game. If your remain light disappeared… your life would too.

' _Okay, stay calm, Kazuto. You know what to do. You were apart of the closed beta. If this is anything like the beta…_ _I need to find Argo.'_

Opening up his PM's, Kirito went through his friend's list, finding the friends he had made from the beta test were still there.

[Kirito:] Argo, you there?

[Argo:] Yeah. No way of getting out.

[Kirito:] It's scary, isn't it? A game that doesn't bat an eye at PvP turned into a matter of Life and Death.

[Argo:] Kayaba sure is one fucked up person… There's got to be at least 50k people on this game. Men, women, children. People of all sorts are here, Kirito. This is bad. Really bad.

[Kirito:] I know. Grind as much as you can. Be prepared and be leveled because I want to meet with you at Alne.

[Argo:] What're we gonna do?

[Kirito:] I don't know yet, Argo… but we need to help the people. I know faction leaders might disagree with what I say, but we're going to need everyone for this. No exceptions.

[Argo:] Ok, keep in touch, alright? Don't die on me. I don't want my number one customer to be dead now, do I?

[Kirito:] Oh shut up. Stay safe, Argo. I mean it.

Kazuto Kirigaya, IGN: Kirito, aged 16. Spriggan player proficient in utilizing all abilities in his kit.

Shiori Izawa, IGN: Argo, aged 16. Cait Sith player proficient in information. A very trusted player from the Closed Beta of Alfheim.

Glancing at another name in his friends list, he decided to PM them.

[Kirito:] Hey, how are you holding up right now?

[Klein:] Still a little shaken from the fact that dying in game means dying in real life. I haven't found any of my friends either.

[Kirito:] Alright, just checking on you. Good luck with finding your friends, alright? Stay alive.

[Klein:] Yeah, thanks man. Good luck to you as well.

Kirito closed his menus and motioned to the other Spriggan nearby.

With one last glance towards the safe zone of the Spriggan capital, the group darted off and flew through the trees surrounding Spriggan territory.

Their destination: a quest to get a significantly better starting weapon.

Kirito knew that withholding information from the other players would only cause problems and as such, had brought 5 others with him so that they could get the weapon as well.

It was decided between the current Spriggan society that they would go in groups of 6 to do the quest. Kirito would be a guide to this and lead the Spriggan that needed it to the quest.

Kirito knew that the current teamwork wouldn't last between them. The Spriggans were never a closely knit group in the game. The beta had less than 750 Spriggans out of the 10000 players that had been selected for the beta. The most populated race were the Salamanders, most likely for their combat abilities. The least population went to the Puca, with less than 500.

Assuming that statistics from the beta could still be applied to the full release, that would mean that the Puca, Spriggans, and Gnomes would have the lowest populations in that order. The middle would be filled by the Leprechauns, Imps, and Cait Sith. The highest populations would be filled by the Salamanders, followed by the Undines and Sylphs.

The Salamanders would have the highest population. The Salamander race as a whole was appealing because of the abilities.

Alfheim was balanced in both PvP and PvE. PvP was the faster, yet riskier way to progress. Killing players now would no longer be just something you could do without the death of an actual person.

All races were meant to thrive by doing what their classes were meant to do.

Salamanders were the main DPS. The fire magic provided a DOT that could stack, ticking down mobs and not allowing them passive regen.

Undines were arguably the most important race with their healing magic that progressed faster than the other races.

Sylphs were good for add control. Their wind magic was able to group mobs and deal with them all at the same time.

Leprechauns were meant to smith. Most player made weapons, while not better than some drops, were still very good when compared to vendor items.

Imps were good for scouting. Their night vision and enhanced eyesight allowed them to see farther than even the Cait Sith.

Cait Sith were good for support. They had the ability to tame mobs which could be used for mounts or even offensive/defensive pets.

Spriggans were also good with scouting within closer ranges. Their illusion magic wasn't much use in a large open field, but in a cave, it was incredibly difficult to see a cloaked Spriggan.

Puca were also support players. Their music granted buffs and debuffs in a high range since it was sound based.

Last but not least, Gnomes were good in defensive situations. Their Earth Magic had the capability of providing high, strong walls or other sorts of geometry.

A pop up soon appeared on Kirito's HUD, signaling that it was time to vote for a player to lead the faction.

Kirito wasn't sure what to think of faction leadership, especially within the Spriggan community. Most Spriggans were lone wolves, preferring to work by themselves. Their illusion magic allowed this to work. If they got in a pinch, they could either smoke bomb, or some other spell in their arsenal to escape the situation. Spriggans had some of the highest survivability rates when it came to PvE.

PvP for Spriggans however, was another story. Unless they got the drop on the enemy, their magic wouldn't do much when compared to the other major races. Salamander fire damage would make going invisible useless, Sylph wind magic would make smoke useless, Undine water magic made it difficult to get in close, and Gnome earth magic would make long fights, battles of attrition. Gnomes could hole up in a dome or underground if ambushed.

[Elected Faction Leader: Sayaka]

He knew the name from the beta. Sayaka was actually a pretty decent leader when it came to the Spriggans. Most Spriggans however, probably won't follow her word. While Kirito's mind wandered, things were happening elsewhere in the virtual world.

 **[** **Argo** **]**

Argo had been going through her contacts, finding everyone that she could trust and marking them with a different colored nametag.

[Trusted]

-Alicia

-Kirito

-Sakuya

-Yuuki

These were people that Argo felt she could trust her life with. Alicia was a Cait Sith like her. In fact, she was the elected leader of the Cait Sith faction for her experience within the game. Sakuya was the Sylph's second in command who had contact with Argo throughout the beta, selling and buying information and sometimes leading her through some parts of the dungeon where mob placement wasn't arranged to where she could skip.

Kirito was a closer friend. Closer than the other two. He was one of the first players of the other races that she had met. He had actually come to her through a mutual contact. He had offered to help her with plenty of her little tasks and leveling. In return, she would provide him with things that she had learned throughout the time in game.

Argo knew from the start that Kirito was a loner. She knew he preferred to be alone from the little interaction she had when they had first met. He wasn't very social, but being around her had at least made him more friendly with people.

Their bond had grown as the beta progressed. The two found themselves chatting with each other even out of the game.

Yuuki was a whole different case. Argo had done her own snooping around about players and what she found… shocked her to the core. She was the only player other than Yuuki's friends that knew that the Sleeping Knights guild was a guild of the terminally ill.

Ever since she had found out, Argo had developed a soft spot for the thirteen year old girl. It broke her heart when she found out. Moreso when Yuuki had told her that Aiko, her sister, had passed already.

Yuuki only asked that Argo didn't tell anyone else, no matter how close they were. She honored her wish.

"Argo, do you have a moment?"

Argo turned at the voice of the Cait Sith faction leader.

"Yeah, what do you need?"

 **[** **Yuuki** **]**

"Aiko… I'm scared here… I wish you could come back."

Yuuki Konno sat alone in a room, thinking about everything that had transpired within the past days. She was afraid. She had no one right now. She was the only Imp in the Sleeping Knights guild, and as such, she was alone for now.

" _It's alright, Yu. I'll always be here with you. Maybe not as you would like, but I'll always be there. Get stronger, make friends, and find your other ones. Please don't be afraid, Yuuki. I know you're the last one in our family. Please live through this. For me, alright?"_

A shimmering image of Aiko Konno spoke to her younger sister.

"Is… is this some sort of illusion?"

" _No, Yuuki. I'll tell you all about it later on, but for now… Just stay alive. Carry my flame to the end for me. We will meet again, I promise you that. No matter what happens, we will always be sisters, okay?"_

She nodded at this with tears in her eyes.

As her form disappeared, Yuuki found herself with a new confidence in herself unlike before.

She would get stronger and she would find her guildmates. All for the sake of her sister. It wasn't going to be easy. Yuuki already knew that fact. It wouldn't stop her, however. She would become one of the most renown people in the game. She had to.

"Mom, dad… I'll do it for us."

With a clench of her fist, Yuuki slowly rose from the bed. She had no specific destination in mind. As long as the mobs weren't too dangerous, it was enough for her.

She knew where she needed to go. Her closest friend was Siune. An undine. Next stop was the Spriggans to pick up Nori.

 **[** **Klein** **]**

Tsuboi Ryoutarou had been in stressful situations before. None so, had ever been like this.

' _Okay, think. Your friends are spread all around the realm. The only way to get to them is through the other factions. As such, the only way to get through the other factions is to try to make sure no one thinks I'm some sort of scout or show any form of malice. Alright Tsuboi, you got this. Find your friends.'_

He had leveled in the past day, not letting any of the stress of this being a real death game get to him. He knew what had to be done.

He would pass through the Imp zone and go counter clockwise. Looking at his in game map, he knew that Spriggan territory was also that way so maybe he could pick up a few more tips from Kirito along the way. It never hurt to ask.

"Hey, um, Commander Mortimer, do you mind if I uh, sort of leave? I've gotta find my friends from the real life and to do so, I've gotta travel the entire world. We all made different characters because we wanted to have a diverse team of different races to fix each other's weak points, so none of us are the same."

Mortimer was a brutal player, but also a smart one. This was what made him both respected and feared in the beta.

He thought over his choices for a second. Send off some newbie to find his friends on what might be a suicide for him, or deny his request and have him do nothing.

Obviously he would rather have him doing something productive.

"You're free to find your friends. As long as you believe you'll survive this, go on ahead."

"Thank you, Commander! I'll be sure to come back to help out when I can!" Klein yelled as he ran through the doors. He was slightly leveled, so he would begin his journey right away. First stop: Imp territory.

 **[** **Asuna** **]**

Asuna Yuuki was never a gamer. No, she had only put on the VR rig to escape the reality that was her own mother. Getting trapped was only a side effect.

She however, was still terrified. She had no experience with any sort of video game. At least, nothing to this scale.

A guidebook had been passed out by some of the beta testers. She knew the general idea of the game and about the leveling system. She was fond of reading, and as such, she had already read and memorized most of the beta tester guides. A guide to flight which she picked up very quickly, a guide to leveling, a guide to fighting, a guide to magic, and a guide to dungeons.

She was afraid to fight. Especially with the stakes of taking another person's life, or losing her own.

She knew though, that the only way to get out of this hell was to traverse it. To own it. To make the most of whatever situation she had gotten herself into.

Slicing the last mob to bits, it exploded into hundreds of glowing bits as she was rewarded whatever it was for defeating it. By this time she was a level 4 with a fair skill for magic. She had created an Undine mainly for the looks, but also the support aspects of it.

She had played an MMO before. It was nothing like this. She knew bits and pieces about it, but she hadn't played enough to know a lot of terms.

Heading back to town with her mob drops, she was set on selling them for a better weapon. She was going to buy a mage staff. A quest she had gotten had a reward of a fairly decent rapier, so she would utilize it to the best of her abilities.

' _Mom… do you think of me as a failure for this? Am I not good enough for you? Maybe I escaped the real world for reasons I shouldn't have. I miss everyone. Even you. I know it hasn't even been a week yet, but I'm not naive and I know that we might not even finish this game for years. I wish we could have had our last moment together as a good one, but I was too afraid of you, and you were too harsh on me. It doesn't matter to me, though. I forgive you.'_

No one would know for sure when the game would end.

If you could even call it that.

 **[** **Ran** **]**

Aiko Yuuki had died one month prior to the official release of Alfheim Online. Her death had devastated her little sister and for a very long time, she was depressed.

Ran had found a way to upload her consciousness to the virtual world. She was capable of traversing it in a way no other human was able to. As she died, her doctors had tried to do anything to keep her alive. With a modified VR rig, she was killed in the real world, but in the virtual one, a new life bloomed.

"Say, Meridia, what do you think Yuuki would think of us? I mean, both of us aren't even really alive anymore. If she found out… would she still love me the same?"

"Of course she will. You're sisters. Sisters will always stick together until the end. With you, it's even after the end. I'm sure once her physical body passes, she will be allowed here as well. It's hard, Ai, I know. You have to accept that fact that it will happen though. Talking to her earlier was risky. The system could've detected you and placed you there permanently."

"Yeah, I guess it was kind of dumb. I needed to reassure her somehow. Letting her sit in that room hurt, you know? It's like she had given up completely. We were taught by our parents to help those in need. Yuuki knows that she will die in the coming years. She knows that she's unlike most of the other people in that game. But we were taught differently. Yuuki will help them. I know it."

"Yeah, she never really was one to turn down a request for help, was she? I know we never met in the real world, but in a way, I feel somehow connected to the both of you."

"Like a third sister? I feel the same, Mer. It's only a wonder how Yuuki felt about your passing. She wouldn't do anything for a couple months after your passing. I guess you prepared her for me, eh?"

"Yeah… I guess I did."

 **[** **Sayaka** **]**

Saya Kurosaki was a veteran player. She had played video games all her life with her older siblings. To be a beta tester for the first ever VRMMORPG was an absolute honor for her.

Her siblings had built up her teamwork and leadership skills. Previous MMO's made her more aware of what to do. ALO was different from other MMO's though.

There was no real risk to dying. If you died in one of her previous games, you'd lose some currency and maybe some items. Here, if you died, you'd lose your life. She shuddered at the thought of it.

With a deep breath, she knew this was going to be stressful for her. As elected Spriggan leader, she would be managing her people. Only, she knew it would fall apart. Spriggans were never social. The only ones that might be, would be the new players that weren't from the beta.

She trusted the other beta testers, but she also knew that what they were doing wouldn't work here. She couldn't enforce that though. With a high survivability rate in PvE, Spriggans didn't really need their safe zone for mobs. The only problems arose when there were other players.

Even then, they could hide and no one would know. Banishment from the Spriggan capital of Meso would do absolutely nothing. They didn't need it.

Kirito was another story. She had met him once before in the beta. Now, seeing him take up arms and help the players, she couldn't help but feel interested in the guy. Not romantic, but moreso, to understand who he is and why he does what he does.

She had a lot on her hands. Sleep wasn't her main concern. Saving as many people as she could, was.

 **[** **XaXa** **]**

Elsewhere nearby Spriggan territory was an older teen. 19 year old Shinkawa Shouichi felt power as he sliced down a player, their remain light disappearing in front of his very eyes.

He was diagnosed with mental problems, but no one had stopped him from playing video games. They believed it to be therapeutic for him. When something like this turned into an actual death game, no one knew what he would do.

They certainly didn't expect him to turn into a cold blooded murderer.

 **Author's Note: Well there you go! The first "chapter" of my first fic, inspired by Catsy's incomplete,** _ **Fairy Dance of Death,**_ **and partly by demonsshade's** _ **A Study of Depravity.**_

 **Fairy Dance is arguably my favorite fic on this site. I even ended up making an account just to favorite and follow it. I would highly recommend reading either as they're both really good fics.**

 **I don't know how often I'll be updating this fic, but I'll try to get updates out as soon as I can, assuming I'm not busy.**

 **Please leave reviews and let me know how I'm doing. Thank you for reading.**

 **The pairing is undecided as of 4/27/17 so please vote for some pairings. I'm not entirely sure yet if I want a Kirito X Asuna because of how common it is, but I'll consider it if it's extremely popular.**


	2. Chapter 2

_A Game of Life and Death_

 _Alfheim was supposed to be the next hit that would boost the VR industry. No one ever expected it's turnout to be this bad._

 **[** **July, 1, 2022, Spriggan Territory** **]**

' _It's been a week since the game's release. The Spriggans have gone their separate paths despite the wishes of our leader, Sayaka. Idiots… they don't realize how much of a risk it is to go out like that.'_

Kirito sat up on the bed in an inn. He wasn't alone however. In the room was the faction leader herself. The two had been discussing the Spriggan faction as a whole throughout the night and had decided to rent a room together.

They had spoke of the current situation. Most Spriggans were equipped with novice illusion magic and a blade by the name of Dark Thunder, awarded for completing the quest the second day. T had high base stats and was fairly good when it came to available upgrades.

They had dashed a couple days afterward as the Spriggan community fell apart. There were only around 200 beta testers that had stayed with the Spriggan faction to this date, Kirito and Sayaka being two of them. The rest felt that they could leave.

The population of the Spriggans as a community was around 4000, and it slowly declined each day. They needed as much as possible, and losing each day didn't help at all.

Kirito got out of bed, writing a note for Sayaka before heading out. He was off the face higher leveled mobs for new ear.

Heading out to his newly scouted area, he was greeted with a shriek as a girl was being overwhelmed by the mobs there.

Kirito flung into action, sword in hand with his wings out. He flew straight through a mob, killing it immediately. He began to speed through, slicing everything he could, minus the player.

The final mob burst as his HP dipped into the red.

Combat status soon wore out and his health regen was quickened. He was soon back to full HP before turning to the girl that he had saved. She was tan with the trademark Spriggan black hair, black wings. She however, had a larger than normal physical body type, and looked a lot stronger than other players.

Just before he could say anything to her, a voice rang out behind him.

"That was awesome!"

He turned to see an Imp player he had seen occasionally during the beta test, along with an Undine.

"Yuuki? What're you doing here?" He asked.

"Well, Nori here is one of my friends, so me and Siune were on the way to pick her up. We heard her scream and came running, but you uh, sort of cleared it up before we could get there," the Imp girl said sheepishly.

"Yeah, thanks for that…"

"Ah, no problem. Just figured that if anyone needed help, I'd be there. Hopefully, that is," he said before turning back to Yuuki.

"How have you been recently? I never really did add you during the beta, did I?"

"No, you didn't. I wouldn't mind if you added me now though," the younger girl said with a nearly unnoticeable blush.

Luckily, Kirito had no clue, but a certain Undine had the guts to nudge Yuuki. This of course just furthered her embarrassment.

"Alright, well thank you, Kirito, but we uh, sort of have to go get another friend. It was nice seeing you again though!" Yuuki squeaked as she hastily dragged Siune along with her.

"What's up with her?" He asked Nori.

"Bah, don't worry about her. She'll be fine," she said, waving it off. "Thanks for the save again."

"Yeah, no problem. You guys stay safe, alright?"

"I'll try, but no guarantees. Good luck out there."

As he saw the three leaving, he sighed.

' _That girl will never cease to entertain me…'_

He brushed himself off as he looked through his inventory for the first time since facing off with the mobs.

His eyes widened at the sight of a certain item.

[Black Rain] - Long Sword, One handed

-Light: This weapon weighs less than the average weapon. Allows one handed use and faster handling at the cost of lowered damage.

-Toxic: This weapon applies a potent poison dealing 50 damage per tick for 3 seconds.

-Black: This weapon deals bonus damage to players of the Spriggan Faction.

"The hell? Faction based weapon modifiers?"

He opened his friends list to contact Argo. This was game changing.

[Kirito] Hey, I found a something that you might want to check out.

[ **System** ] You have offered [Black Rain] for Argo's [Empty].

[ **System** ] Argo has accepted your trade.

[Argo] I don't understand, what's up with it?

[Kirito] Look at the modifiers. You'll see it immediately.

[Argo] Oh yeah that does change things. A whole faction could be armed with this type of stuff if they were trying to wipe another one. It would take a while, but it would work.

[ **System** ] Argo offers [Black Rain] for your [Empty]

[ **System** ] You have accepted the trade

[Argo] I think you might be the first to get a weapon with a modifier like that. It's certainly interesting. You mind messaging me if you find any more?

[Kirito] Yeah I will, don't worry about.

 **[** **Argo** **]**

[Argo] Well, stay safe, alright?

[Kirito] I will. Don't die on me either.

Argo began typing something else.

[Argo] I will. Love you.

She hesitated to send it however.

[Argo] I will.

' _What the hell was that? Did I really mean it? Would I have?'_

A tap on the shoulder shifted her attention to the cute and very hyper Alicia Rue, leader of the Cait Sith faction.

"Well, what was it?"

"I'll tell ya for 200 Yuld," Argo said with a smug look.

Alicia however, was not having it, and have her a look.

"Kirito seems to have discovered something new. He sent me an item with a new modifier that we hadn't seen in the beta. From what I can deduce, the modifier is color based. His blade had the modifier titled "Black" and it said that it did bonus damage to Spriggans. If my guess is correct, there will also be Red for Salamanders, Green for Sylphs, Blue for Undines, Purple for Imps, Brown for Gnomes, Tan for Cait Sith, Yellow for Puca, and White for Leprechauns."

"So you're saying if a faction manages to get enough weapons for a large group, they could potentially wipe them with less effort?"

"Yeah. It's not good. It promotes PvP behaviors. That's something we really don't need when we've got lives on the line."

"Well, as the leader of our faction, I'll try to do my best for the sake of all of us. Nevermind that, but Cait Sith or not, if you show no malice, I will grant someone safety in our territory."

"I know you will. I trust you more than you think, Alicia. We've known each other since the beginning so I guess I've grown sort of fond of you."

"Oh, is the Rat actually confessing to me right now?"

"Nah, you wish. I guess I uh…" her thoughts trailed off to a certain Spriggan. "I guess I kind of already have someone in mind."

"Ooh, who is it?" Alicia asked, getting up close and personal with Argo. "Oh come on, tell me tell me, I won't say it to anyone else! I promise!"

"It doesn't matter who it is, alright?"

"Oh, is it hmm… oh, maybe Kirito! Is it him?"

Argo tried to keep her cool, but she let it slip for the shortest time.

Alicia's Cait Sith enhanced vision allowed her to notice the very slight blush that was barely there.

"Oh, it is! Oh my god, you two would make a great couple! I can see it now, some cute black kitties after you two are dating. Oh it would be amazing!"

Her suggestions finally broke through Argo and she was soon openly blushing at the thought.

"Shut up! I-I don't like him like that, okay?" She said as Alicia danced around the room, avoiding her.

"Come on, girl, don't feel embarrassed about it! Kirito seems like a great guy! I'm sure you two would work out. You may not know each other in the real world, but hey, you never know what could go on now. In this hellish nightmare."

"You know what? You probably like other girls! I bet you'd get with, I don't know, Sakuya any day of the week!"

Alicia slowed down immediately at this, her mouth hanging open as she stared at Argo.

"H-How did you… how did you know?"

"Wait what?!"

 **[** **Yuuki** **]**

' _Come on, Yuuki, you're a big girl now. Get over him. He's just an incredible boy with… nevermind! It doesn't matter. Just stop thinking about it and it'll go aw-'_

"You still thinking about him?"

Looking over at Siune, Yuuki blushed and stammered. "S-Shut up! It doesn't matter what I was doing, alright? I-I just, he's so… so awesome at everything he does! It's not my fault I'm attracted to him. He just… does these things that are extremely appealing, ok?"

"Being good at video games?"

"Well yeah! You know all of our conditions in the actual world, so you know that we all have been in the VR world for so long. There's really not much else we could do…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The party fell silent for a while as the three flew through Spriggan territory headed directly for the Leprechauns.

"You think he's gonna be alright?" Yuuki asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah. I think he's smart enough and strong enough to fend for himself. I believe in him as much as you, Yuuki. He's a great guy," Siune replied.

"... do you think that maybe… just maybe, he might like me as well?"

"Well, I can't say for sure, but I think in time, you two will grow close. Maybe even closer than you might've thought… who knows?"

"What would Ran say about me? Here I am crushing on a guy that's like, three years older than me…"

"Your sister won't think any differently of you, okay? You two are sisters. It doesn't really matter what you do because nothing will ever change the fact that you two are related by blood, no matter how bad it might be."

"Thanks, Siune… you're a real friend, you know that? I'm glad I met you. All of you. It's gonna be hard when we all start to… you know. Die off. Eventually it's just gonna be one of us. By then, who knows what might happen? I only hope that everyone's last memories of me are good ones."

"Hey, guys!" Came the voice of the Spriggan. "I see someone! Maybe we can go ask them for help!"

 **[** **Sayaka** **]**

"So this weapon has a modifier specifically for killing Spriggans?"

Kirito shifted a bit, uneasiness settling over him.

"Yeah… I guess Kayaba added it in to promote PvP interactions. I mean, some people are gonna say that if it's easier to kill a person of a certain race, then why not, you know? As long as they don't have a weapon that combats them, they'll be completely fine."

"I see… well this certainly isn't good for us. Being as loosely grouped as we are and with a lot of players having left to go on their own, we of all seem to be at a disadvantage over others. At least the Puca have more numbers when they're all grouped. Not to mention, they're a support class and can work wonders in large groups."

Sayaka sighed before turning to look over at the city that she held. It was sparsely filled with the occasional player visiting a vendor or going out for a small walk.

The town of the Spriggans was a dead zone. Not many players wandered around without a need to.

Sayaka sat down hanging her knees over the top of the platform. She looked on and thought of the family she had back home in the real world. She had loving parents, an older brother, and an older sister.

Her parents were retired from the medical field. Her brother had just gotten a degree for dentistry and her sister had planned on going into pediatrics for her college major.

The only one the family was missing was her…

Tears slowly formed and flowed down her face as she thought of the family she could potentially lose.

A hand cupping her hands brought her out of it as she looked over to see Kirito with a concerned look.

"It's gonna be alright, Sayaka. We'll get through this. I promise you that. It doesn't matter how we do it. As long as we make it back… I think it'll be alright."

The dam broke after hearing his words, and she cried into his shoulder, hugging him. He sat there shocked.

"It's just… scary to think about, you know? I-I have… my family, they all, I think they all miss me. I miss them and every day I can't help but think about them. It hurts, you know? I love them all and I just… I can't stand the thought of being without them. I don't know how long I can stay in this position, Kirito. Being the leader of an entire group of people is so stressful. I'm not old enough for this! I should be out having fun, not managing this many people and worrying about their health in a game."

"I'm sorry. But if it's worth anything, I think you'll make an amazing leader. If the beta proved anything, it's that you have what a leader needs. Compassion, empathy, and nerves among other things," he said, patting her back, trying to calm her down.

Soon enough, Sayaka seemed to calm down. She wiped her eyes before looking back at the city.

"Thank you. For everything, I mean. It really does mean a lot to me."

"It's no problem, Sayaka. We're gonna be fine."

Her heart fluttered looking back to the boy next to her.

' _Maybe he's the one…'_

 **[** **Lisbeth** **]**

' _Way to go, Rika. Getting yourself into some more support jobs in another MMO… only this time, you'll die in real life too. Great.'_

One of the highest leveled blacksmiths of the Leprechaun faction was not having a good day.

First, she breaks a sword that used some pretty expensive/rare material, second, she has a job order for a couple hundred weapons that's supposed to be due in a week, and third, her own mace managed to break! Like, how?

' _I'm a smith for god's sake, so how the hell did I manage to break my own weapon in combat?'_

She looked at what remained of her weapon in her inventory.

[Steel Mace] - Mace, One handed

-Broken: This weapon has been broken and will no longer be effective. It needs to be repaired by a blacksmith.

' _Man, I sure am an idiot… better get home then. No point being out here for mats if I have no weapon.'_

She began her journey back to her shop which doubles as her home. Along the way, she spotted a group consisting of an Imp, Spriggan, and an Undine.

She saw them flying towards her. Based on their speed, it was obvious that they were higher level than her.

"Shit… no use in trying to run," she said with a sigh before returning her attention to the travelers. "The hell do you three want with me?"

"Oh, um, we were just hoping you could help us in finding out friend… his name is Talken and he's a Leprechaun like you. Um, I guess he sort of looks like a uh, a nerd with the glasses. He's very awkward and talking to girls is his weakness," the Imp said to her.

Lisbeth sighed in relief as she realized that the girls weren't a threat to her.

"Name Talken, looks like a nerd, awkward around girls. Yeah I think I know who you're talking about. Swings by my shop for his upgrades. Just follow me. I'll show you to my shop."

"Oh, thanks! I'm Yuuki, the Undine is Siune, and the Spriggan is Nori."

"My name is Lisbeth, it certainly was nice meeting some friendly people here. Glad I bumped into you and not some hostile players."

"Have you ever come across hostile players before?"

"Nah, but it's only a matter of time, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

As the small group flew into the Leprechaun home town, they soon came across Lisbeth's Weapons and Wares. It was a good size for a starting building. The walls were adorned with weapons and armor for sale and in the middle lie multiple other pieces that were up for sale.

On the right side of the room we're a flight of stairs. There was a sign saying "Owner Access Only," which most likely meant it was to the Leprechaun's room.

On both the left and right sides of the room were small round tables with 4 chairs each.

"Make yourselves at home. I'll be in the back working on some stuff. You're welcome to watch if you want."

Lisbeth walked back to her smithing area. Yuuki followed as Siune and Nori sat at a table.

"I've always wanted to see how a blade is forged in this game," Yuuki said excitedly as she watched Lis manipulate the items in her inventory and on the anvil.

She could see that while in her shop, Lisbeth was significantly more comfortable and didn't need actual armor, instead, opting for a non protective, Blacksmith's Skirt that granted bonuses to smithing such as increased success chance, and other modifiers.

The Blacksmith's Skirt was actually an item that was in the beta. The stats had stayed that the roll on the skirt would change every day at random. There was no telling what you would get.

Today's forge was going to be good. Yuuki could feel it.

With the swings of a hammer, the ingot began to change it's form. Soon enough, an average short sword was made. Basic stats, nothing special but also nothing wrong with it.

Lisbeth counted in her head.

' _Well, the first one went smoothly. Hopefully the others are like this.'_

She stowed the weapon away before going in for another swing.

 **AN:** **And there's chapter 2. I've decided since the first chapter that I'm going to be making the pairing my own choice. I won't reveal it until it happens however, so if you want to find out, you may as well read on.**

 **Thankfully I've gotten some constructive criticism from two of the three reviewers as of the time of writing this, and I am thankful to them.**

 **Updates for this fic will likely come out at least once a week. After I'm done with school however, I'll probably be updating a lot more. As of now, I only really type my fics before I go to bed. I only ask that you please bear with me since it's still a bit odd getting used to managing your own fic.**


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